With gold coins in hand, Miss Wenna showed remarkable decisiveness. First, she purchased at a steep price the three-story flat-roofed building behind the specialty store. Then she had walls erected connecting the two houses and the narrow alley between them, over two meters wide, and renovated the whole thing, linking the newly acquired three-story building with the two shopfronts in front. In one stroke, the sales floor more than doubled. Taking
A month ago, the former garrison captain who had sneaked back to the old Windsor territory to gather intelligence returned with several dozen people — mostly servants and guards who had once served at Windsor Castle. After the new lord arrived, these old members of the Windsor Family had been thrown out for the sake of security, left to fend for themselves on the streets. When they heard that Miss Wenna and the Young Master were in
Among the newcomers was a father and son who were both tanners and cobblers — long the exclusive shoemakers of the Windsor Family. Their arrival filled Lorist with delight. Before long, the Windsor Women's Fashion Boutique launched a new line of high-heeled shoes that quickly swept through all of Morant City. Though many merchants tried to copy the Windsor store's product lines, the wealthy and the nobility remained devoted to that tiny mermaid trademark. "Windsor," in the old Elven tongue, meant mermaid. The Windsor Family crest depicted a mermaid wielding a trident in battle.
Nowadays, when the nobles and wealthy of Morant City held gatherings, any household whose women didn't have several sets of Windsor boutique gowns and princess dresses to rotate through would practically be considered a laughingstock. One daughter of a trade association president even changed into seventeen outfits and seven pairs of high-heeled shoes during a single banquet, turning her father's appreciation dinner into a de facto Windsor boutique fashion show.
Miss Wenna now fully understood what it meant to have money rolling in like a river. She handed the boutique over to Suzy and the garment workshop to Lina. With these two handmaids working tirelessly, the eldest miss began to turn her gaze toward the family's former territory.
Lina's father, Sir Som, had arrived in Morant City over a month ago, bringing Lina's mother and two younger brothers along. However, his injuries had not yet healed, and he still needed more time to recover before he could regain his fighting form.
Lorist admired this taciturn, powerfully built man, though he occasionally amused himself with the thought that Lina couldn't possibly be his biological daughter — their temperaments were nothing alike, and it was hard to believe this loyal, steady man could have such a spirited and mischievous girl for a daughter. Then again, Lina looked very much like her mother, who was gentle and kind — nothing like the sharp-tongued little girl who never let anyone off the hook once she had the upper hand.
When the Windsor Family's loyal former garrison captain brought back the old retainers, he also brought news from the former territory. Under the new lord's extortionate taxation, the old lands were filled with wailing and misery, and the people yearned for the days of Windsor Family rule. Those scattered former garrison members and family soldiers had taken to banditry one after another, and the old territory was ablaze with unrest, a picture of utter chaos.
This was actually quite common across Galentea. After acquiring a new territory, a new lord would typically impose harsh policies to squeeze the residents — partly to recoup the price he had paid, and partly to put the fear of God into them. When the residents could endure no more and were on the verge of revolt, the lord would send in the army to suppress them, executing those loyal to the old lord. Once the chickens were killed to frighten the monkeys, the remaining population had no choice but to submit meekly. Only then would the new lord gradually relax his grip and implement policies to pacify and comfort the people. Within a few years, the residents would naturally forget the old lord and transfer their loyalty wholeheartedly to the new one.
Lorist believed this was precisely the optimal moment to infiltrate the old territory and organize a resistance force — an opportunity that could not be missed. Sir Som nodded in agreement. Miss Wenna immediately decided that after her eighteenth birthday coming-of-age ceremony, Sir Som would lead a squad of a dozen or so back to the old territory and establish the Windsor Family's resistance army. Their initial tasks would be to set up several hidden, secure camps, then round up the soldiers and guards still loyal to the family, and deploy spies to monitor the territory. Once the preliminary preparations were complete, Miss Wenna would organize armed personnel and equipment in Morant City and send them to the old territory to support Sir Som's campaign against the new lord.
The coming-of-age ceremony was a traditional noble custom in Galentea — both a celebration worthy of congratulation when a child in the household reached adulthood and a formal expression of the elders' high hopes for the young person's future. Typically, an elder of great prestige and standing would bestow a sword upon a young man, or place a floral crown on the head of a young woman who had come of age, and speak a few words of blessing. After that came a grand banquet and revelry.
But Miss Wenna's eighteenth birthday ceremony was sparsely decorated, and few people were present. Sir Som's wife placed a pure white floral crown on the big-eyed girl's head, sprinkled her with holy water, then clasped her hands together and wished that the girl's life would be free of worry, that she would find a kindred soul to love, and that she would become a glorious mother and virtuous lady.
After the coming-of-age ceremony came the Windsor Family head's inauguration. One by one, all the old Windsor retainers stepped forward and bowed to the girl sitting above them wearing the floral crown, pledging that they would serve loyally and faithfully for the honor and revival of the Windsor Family. Even Madame Windsor, draped in a black cloak to conceal her increasingly rounded figure, led the curious-faced Young Master to the girl and offered a half-bow.
The speech had brought hope. To honor the warrior and reward his loyal service, I, the eleventh head of the Windsor Family, Windsor Bilina, hereby appoint Sir Herd as the Guardian Knight of the Windsor Family."
The girl tapped Sir Herd on each shoulder with the flat of the blade.
Sir Som stepped forward several paces and called out in a ringing voice: "Sir Herd, are you willing to be the final bulwark of Mermaid Castle?"
"I am!"
"Sir Herd, are you willing to fight unto death beneath the banner of the Mermaid?"
"I am!"
"Sir Herd, are you willing to charge forth at the sound of the Mermaid's horn, pressing ever onward without retreat?"
"I am!"
"Sir Herd, are you willing to devote your life to the glory of the Mermaid crest, never faltering until death?"
"I am!" Sir Herd's answers grew louder with each oath, his whole body trembling with emotion.
"Then welcome to our ranks, my brother!" Sir Som strode forward, hauled Sir Herd up from the ground, and embraced him tightly.
Everyone present began to applaud, the clapping merging into a single sustained roar.
As an invited observer, Lorist had sat quietly to one side throughout the entire ceremony. But the scene before him seemed to stir something hidden deep in his heart — a memory belonging to the body's original owner, little Locke. It seemed the
After the ceremony, Lorist, the girl who had just become the Windsor Family's head and was still wearing her floral crown, Sir Som who was about to depart at the head of his squad, and the newly invested Sir Herd sat together to make their final plans. Miss Wenna had already decided to establish the Windsor Trading Company, using its name to purchase weapons and equipment and to recruit Silver-rank mercenaries. She vetoed Sir Herd's proposal to return with Sir Som to the old territory to organize the resistance.
Miss Wenna believed Sir Herd's most urgent task was to master the high-tier wood-attribute battle aura manual that the family had bestowed upon him. She had paid a steep price to acquire this high-tier battle aura manual, specifically to present it to Sir Herd as a gift during the family knight promotion ceremony. The former garrison captain was a
But Sir Herd was eager to serve his new master, burning with the desire to prove himself. In the end, Miss Wenna agreed to let Sir Herd oversee the transport of weapons and equipment and the reception of personnel.
Lorist, for his part, kept cautioning Sir Som that upon arriving in the old territory, his first priority was not to recruit resistance members and build up their forces, but to select camps and hidden shelters, establish a spy network, and gather intelligence on the new lord. Under no circumstances should he rush into attacking the new lord's castle or army. In the early stages, survival above all else.
Sir Som nodded with an amused smile. The eldest miss's boyfriend was quite the character — had the young man forgotten he had already repeated these instructions three times? Still, Sir Som thanked Lorist and assured him he would heed every word.
Night deepened, but Lorist still felt no desire to sleep. He didn't know whether it was the Windsor Family knight promotion ceremony that had moved him tonight, but he suddenly realized he had harbored deep misconceptions about the nobility. Perhaps the influence of his previous life had been too great — he had always assumed that nobles were all hypocritical, pretentious creatures, just like the satirical cartoons of his old world portrayed them: fat, repulsive parasites sucking the lifeblood of the common people. But tonight, the memories buried in the depths of his heart told him that not all nobles were as he had imagined. Loyalty, courage, justice, self-discipline — there were plenty of nobles who embodied these virtues, who served their duties faithfully and burned with the same fiery passion.
The door was quietly pushed open. The girl, still wearing her floral crown, crept in dressed in a white silk nightgown. First she peeked at the bed and, finding it empty, wrinkled her pretty nose. "Where on earth did that wretched fellow run off to…" she murmured under her breath.
Lorist chuckled softly. The girl gave a startled jump, spun around, and spotted Lorist standing by the window. "It's the middle of the night and you're still not asleep — what are you up to?" she scolded with a pout.
Lorist was rendered speechless… He pointed at himself, then at the room, then at the girl — the message being: this is my room, so what are you doing barging in here in the middle of the night?
The girl swept toward him like a gentle breeze and, in the blink of an eye, had thrown herself into Lorist's arms, her arms winding around his neck, her breath fragrant as orchids. "I'm so happy tonight, I simply can't sleep. Locke, thank you. Without you, there would be no me. You gave me hope, and you gave me a tomorrow…"
The girl closed her eyes and offered her lips.
Lorist responded with passion.
As the kiss deepened, they grew increasingly aroused, and Lorist found himself struggling to hold back.
The girl suddenly pushed Lorist away, her cheeks flushing crimson. "Locke, I want to dance. I want to dance a dance for you."
Barefoot, the girl swirled through the silver moonlight streaming through the windows, her dance on the dark reddish-brown wooden floor like a moon elf offering her most devout prayer to the Silver Moon Mother Goddess. Her white nightgown was like a white tuberose slowly unfurling in the still of night, silently releasing its fragrance.
Finishing the last dance movement, the girl froze in the silver moonlight, perfectly still, like a statue of breathtaking beauty.
Lorist extended both thumbs up.
The girl's face flushed again, slowly. She raised her hands and gently loosened the ribbon on her shoulder. The white nightgown drifted silently to the floor…
Her body stood revealed before Lorist, his breathing already growing heavy…
The girl's trembling voice came: "Lo-Locke, am I beautiful?"
Lorist transformed into a wolf…
……
That night, the moonlight was like water…
……
Hehe, this really is a rather old-fashioned love story…